Hearing aid, particularly spectacle type hearing aid



Dec. 19, 1967 G. ROSENSTAND 3,359,377

y HEARING AID, PARTICULARLY SPECTACLE TYPE HEARING AID Filed Sept. 18, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 19, 1967 G. RosENsTAND 3,359,377

HEARING AID, PARTICULARLY SPECTACLE TYPE HEARING AID l Filed Sept. 18, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. G-f. osenA'nm BY Q arrow AAA SEER-vou) United States Patent O 3,359,377 HEARING AID, PARTICULARLY SPECTACLE TYPE HEARING All) Gerd Rosenstand, Vester Valdgade 7 9, Copenhagen, Denmark )Filed Sept. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 309,748 Claims priority, application Denmark, Sept. 20, 1962, 4,088/ 62 4 Claims. (Cl. 179-107) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to a hearing aid, particularly to a spectacle type hearing aid with built-in components mounted on a removable cover so that the components may be easily tested and adjusted and, if needs be, corrected before the cover with the components is fastened to the housing of the spectacle side-bar.

Background of the invention The eld of art to which the invention pertains is hearing aids attached to a pair of spectacles. The hollow spectacle side-bar has a nearly plane cover that constitutes the inner side wall, and the hearing aid components are mounted in a main portion that has a Ushaped cross section with the opening facing towards the side. It is difiicult to mount the components in this main portion and it is not possible to test the hearing aid before all the components are mounted and if there proves to be a fault it will be diicult to carry out a correction. In the known construction it is moreover necessary to make special right hand side-bars and other special left hand side-bars which renders the production, storing and forwarding complicated.

Summary of the invention It is the object of the invention to devise a hearing aid of the type indicated, in which the mentioned shortcomings are completely or partly remedied. The hearing aid according to the invention is characterized in that on a removable cover there are mounted the essential components of the hearing aid. In this way the mounting of the components can be carried out in .an easy and convenient way and it will be easy to carry out testing and adjustment and, if need be, corrections, before the cover with the components is fastened to the housing.

The cover may, according to the invention, be made with considerable stilness, preferably by means of one or more ribs. By these means a practical construction element is obtained to act as basis for the mounting, so that the latter may be carried out easily and conveniently. It must, however, be remarked that there is nothing to hinder placing the cover on a special, stiff supporting element during the mounting of the components. The cover may, according to the invention, at each side have a wall portion that in the mounted position of the cover projects into the housing of the hearing aid. In this way an especially stii construction of the cover is obtained. It must, however, be noted that the side Wall portions should not be very high as then ditliculties may arise in connection with the mounting of the components in the space between the side wall portions.

In a hearing aid Where the housing of the hearing aid is formed by a hollow portion of a spectacle side-bar the cover may, according to the invention, form the bottom of the housing. In this way it is obtained that the sidebar, possibly with minor alterations may be employed as -a right hand side-bar or as a left hand side-bar, as it can be made substantially symmetrical in relation to a vertical central plane. The two side walls of the housing may, according to the invention, be connected with each Patented Dec. 19, 1967 other by means of transversal walls. In this way a strong and stiff construction is obtained.

Brief description of the drawings On the drawings there are shown two embodiments of a hearing aid according to the invention,

FIG. 1 showing a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a side-bar with built-in hearing aid,

FIG. 2 the side-bar, seen from below,

FIG. 3 a horizontal sectional View of the side-bar,

FIG. 4 a cross sectional view on the line IV-IV in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 5 a perspective view of a hearing aid of another embodiment for being placed behind the ear.

Description of the preferred embodiments In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 14, 1 designates the end portion of a side-bar that lies nearest the spectacle glasses. At its rear end this end portion 1 has a plug 2 that is slit by means of a slit 3 and has two engagement hooks 5 and 4. The plug 2 engages a corresponding hole in a housing that has a main portion with a U-shaped cross section with a top wall 6 and two vertical side walls 7 and 8. The housing forms the middle portion of the side-bar and is made in one piece with an obliquely downwards projecting rear portion 97 that is solid. The two side walls 7 and 8 are mutually connected by means of transversal walls 10 and 11 with a straight lower edge that lies a considerable distance above the lower edge of the side walls 7 and 8. The housing has furthermore, approximately at the centre, a vertical pipe shaped portion 12 with a hole for a fastening screw 13 and outside the ends of the cavity in the housing there are provided screw holes for fastening screws 14 and 15.

By means of the fastening screws 13, 14 and 15 a metal plate cover is fastened to the housing, which cover is made with a bottom wall 16 and two side walls 17 and 18, On this cover there are mounted a microphone 19, a coil 20 for receiving electromagnetical oscillations, e.g. from a city telephone, an angle chassis 21 that supports various small components 22, a switch with an operating member 23, projecting down through a slit in the bottom wall 16 and having 3 positions, namely switched oif, coil 20 coupled in and microphone 19 coupled in, a volume control with an operating member 24, that extends down through an aperture in the bottom wall 16, a holder 2S for a battery, a tone control with an operating member 26, a sound emitter 27 with an outlet duct 28', that extends down through an aperture in the bottom wall 16, and a condenser 28 for the tone control.

The holder 25 for the battery has at the bottom an engagement projection 29 and may by means of this be pulled down through an opening in the bottom wall 16, having, however, stopping projections 30 and 31, that engage corresponding stopping members in the housing so the holder cannot be pulled completely out of the housing. The holder has a circular aperture 32 in the side and when the holder is in its pulled down position this opening is unobstructed, so that a battery may be introduced or removed.

The portion 1 may be inverted so that the side-bar may be used as a right hand side-bar or as a left hand sidebar. The rear portion 9 may, after being heated, be bent towards the side for adjustment according to the shape of the head of the user. The portion 1 may be exchanged with another portion that has another length. In a spectacle type hearing aid there may be arranged a complete hearing aid in both sides, or one side may not contain a hearing aid, but may, for the sake of the appearance have the same outer design as the side that contains a hearing aid.

The hearing aid shown in FIG. 5 is intended to be worn behind the ear. It has a housing 33 with a U-shaped cross section and a rearwards directed aperture, that is shut by means of a cover 34 that has an end wall 35 and upon which all the hearing aid components are mounted as roughly sketched. To the housing there is connected a sound conduit 36 that may be removable so that the hearing aid may be mounted on the rear end of a spectacle side-bar that is adapted for connection with a downwards projecting sound tube. f

The shown and described embodiments are only to be considered as examples, as various variations are conceivable within the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. Side-bar for a spectacle type hearing aid comprising a bar shaped main part that has a portion with substantially U-shaped cross section, having a top wall and two downwards projecting side walls defining a hollow, and a substantially U-shaped cover, having a bottom wall and two upwards projecting side walls which are received between the side walls of the main part and the bottom wall of which cover provides a bottom for the main parts hollow and where the following components are mounted on the cover substantially in the following order reckoned from the front end of the cover and towards the rear end: a coil for receiving electromagnetic oscillations from a city telephone, various small components, an operating member projecting down through a slit in the bottom wall of the cover, the operating member having three positions, namely switched oit, said coil coupled in and microphone coupled in, a volume control with an operating member that extends down through an aperture in the covers bottom wall, a holder for a battery, a tone control with an operating member that can be operated on the underside of the cover, a sound emitter with an outlet duct that extends down through an aperture in the covers bottom wall and a condenser for the tone control.

2. Side-bar for a spectacle type hearing aid according to claim 1 Where the bottom Wall of the cover has an aperture for pulling down the battery holder to a position that is dened by stopping members and where the holder has a lateral aperture that in said position is unobstructed to permit the removal of the battery.

3. Side-bar for a spectacle type hearing aid comprising a bar-shaped main part, said main part having a portion having a substantially U-shaped cross section, said portion having a top wall and two downwardly projecting side walls defining a hollow, a substantially U-shaped cover having a bottom Wall and two upwardly projecting side walls, said upwardly projecting side walls being received between said downwardly projecting side walls of said portion, said bottom wall of said cover providing a bottom for said hollow of said portion, and said main part having a rear end, said rear end having a substan tially solid portion, said solid portion being adapted to be bent for adjustment to the shape of the users head.

4. Side-bar for a spectacle type hearing aid according to claim 3, and said main part having a symmetrical shape for being used in a right hand side-bar as well as in a left hand side-bar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,856,466 10/1958 Gustafson et al. 179--107 3,138,491 6/1964 Rubio 179--107 3,193,048 6/1965 Kohler 179-107 3,233,048 2/1966 Lewis et al 179-107 KATHLEEN H. CLAFFY, Primary Examiner.

A. MCGILL, S. I. BOR, Assistant Examiners. 

3. SIDE-BAR FOR A SPECTACLE TYPE HEARING AID COMPRISING A BAR-SHAPED MAIN PART, SAID MAIN PART HAVING A PORTION HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED CROSS SECTION, SAID PORTION HAVING A TOP WALL AND TWO DOWNWARDLY PROJECTING SIDE WALLS DEFINING A HOLLOW, A SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED COVER HAVING A BOTTOM WALL AND TWO UPWARDLY PROJECTING SIDE WALLS, SAID UPWARDLY PROJECTING SIDE WALLS BEING RECEIVED BETWEEN SAID DOWNWARDLY PROJECTING SIDE WALLS OF 